Extreme rain between Christmas and New Year’s produced massive flooding in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Israel has sent emergency response teams to help flooding victims in both countries.
In the UK, Israeli humanitarian aid organization IsraAID sent a team to help rebuild homes and distribute food, warm blankets, and other supplies to flood victims in northern England.
“The first team [was] greeted by locals with open hands and are now mapping the workloads which would include distribution of goods and gutting houses helping people repair their homes,” said Shachar Zahavi, founding director of IsraAid. “We wanted to show the community we would be there for them.”
“We have another team of five waiting to be sent from Israel we just have to assess where they are most needed and what is the best thing we can do to help.”
Meanwhile, severe flooding in several southern and midwest states prompted IsraAID to prepare to send teams to the US as well.
Flooding from New Madrid, Missouri to Chester, Illinois on January 1, 2016
“As swollen rivers and streams push to heights not seen in nearly a quarter-century, officials in Missouri and Illinois are scrambling to help the tens of thousands who are left homeless. With record breaking storms in Texas and Mississippi as well, first responders, volunteers, and local communities are going through a difficult holiday season, with the death toll and number of displaced growing,” said a spokesman for IsraAID. The group said they are coordinating with national and local officials in the US and have a team of 7-10 disaster specialists ready to deploy to help with the recovery effort.
This round of holiday season flooding in the United States affected more than 9 million people in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, West Virginia, Louisiana, and Alabama.